command x: live design competition

Command X is a live design competition held at the annual AIGA Design Conference. In 2016, the conference was held in no other than Las Vegas, Nevada. During the Command X competition, 7 up-and-coming designers tackle design assignments with less than 24 hours to come up with a solution, and then present their designs to an audience of thousands.

I was selected to compete head-to-head against 6 other talented, young designers, all of whom are college grads under the age of 26. We met at the Mirage in Las Vegas, the setting for the 2016 AIGA Design Conference where Command X was held. During this design competition / live reality show, we were given assignments with less than 24 hours to find a solution. My competitors and I presented our designs to an audience of thousands, and were given feedback from our judges, Bonnie Siegler, Dana Arnett, and Stanley Hainsworth. The audience then voted for their favorites. Each night two designers were eliminated, and the remaining competitors were given their next challenge. This proceeded for 3 nights until there was one winner.

Our first assignment was to redesign the logo for Gamblers Anonymous. My logo was inspired by a house of cards, where each card relies on each other for stability. The 12 cards allude to GA's 12-step recovery program, and the icon's circular format alludes to the cyclical nature of a gambling addiction. Lastly, the negative space created by the logo's icon is symbolic of a window; there are no windows in casinos, and Gamblers Anonymous acts as a window of hope for people struggling with this addiction.

I made it to the second round and was given the next assignment: redesign the way Zappos delivers their products. My solution focused on one of Zappos's core values, customer service. One of the first things a customer does when ordering shoes or clothing online is try them on for 2 reasons: to make sure they look great and fit well. My solution involved a box which opens up into a 3-fold mirror, which the customer can use to make sure their items look okay. The box also has a flap with fit guidelines, a ruler, and a conversion chart so the customer can make sure their items fit well. If the customer is happy with their purchase, the box's flaps can be cut & folded along the dotted lines to create shoe forms to preserve their shoe's shape. If not, the inside flap has return information to make the returning process simple and easy.

The audience voted, and I was so humbled to have made it to the final round! Adam, Andres and I were given our last assignment: motivate people between the ages of 18 and 24 to vote.

My goal was to create a campaign that eliminated apathy, and did so by encouraging millennials to express emotion. I was inspired by my own frustrations as a millennial voter, and described all the things about 2016's presidential election that many people in my age group found frustrating. I proposed instating pop-up participatory walls where people can go and scribble thoughts or political feelings. Millennials could take photos of themselves with the wall & post on social media, hopefully encouraging other millennials to also engage. All posts & imagery would be gathered on a gallery website, where millennials could go and see that they are part of something bigger than themselves.

I did not win the Command X competition, but being a part of it was the most humbling, incredible, rewarding experience.